live why you live, this is "abc7 news." [ sirens ] >> get many my car, ma'am. get in my car. >> this is so terrible. >> all of santa rosa is on fire. i'm not [ bleep ] right now. >> it's the anniversary of the most heartbreaking, destructive wildfires in state history. one year ago today, a firestorm exploded in the north bay. six blazes wiped out 8900 homes, burned 200,000 acres, and killed 44 people. many of whom had no chance to escape. good afternoon. i'm kristen sze. >> and i'm dan ashley. live in santa rosa. >> we have live team coverage on the north bay wildfires one year later. our team of reporters and anchors have put together stories how the fires have changed the lives of so many people, and how they met the challenge of rebuilding and moving ahead.

>> we have remarkable coverage for you here tonight, so i'm glad you're with us. i'm live in fountain grove in santa rosa, which is one of the areas so devastated when these six massive fires sparked one year ago today, and cause sod much devastation and so much destruction and heartache. lives turned upside down. you can see this moonscape here behind me. that one pink house survived the flames that day, here in this neighborhood. now, in the years since, politicians, police, and fire agencies, have tried to look to the past, of course, to see what mistakes were made and to see what they can do better going forward, to learn from this disaster, to find better ways to inform people more quickly so they can get out of harm's way. it's a massive undertaking. but the goal going forward is to save property and save lives as effectively as possible. and reporter laura anthony is live in the silverado neighborhood to begin our

coverage. laura? >> reporter: hi, dan. i am in napa county. six people died here in this county, including the elderly couple that lived in this home that used to be here behind me, when the atlas fire came raging over the hillside behind me in the middle of the night. tonight, the napa county sheriff's unveiled a new siren system, one they hope will help more people get out in time next time. [ siren ] it's an unfamiliar found. meant to get the immediate attention of residents in napa county. >> we've had fires, floods, and na earthquakes. >> reporter: john robertson calls the siren one result of lessons learned from last year's fires. >> it allows us to drive a patrol car in rural areas, advising people rapidly that there's an emergency. >> we're up in the redwood road

area. >> reporter: captain chris carr lyle showed us what his deputies were up against, trying to evacuate well populated but heavily wooded communities in the middle of the night. the high-loci remember wwwww tool. >> it allows us to drive through neighborhoods, see the entire strip of homes that have been evacuated, and we can move on to places who may not know about the fire yet or the energy. >> reporter: still, given the magnitude of last year's wildfires, the intensity of the winds, the speed and height of the flames, first responders here are well aware. no amount of preparation can guarantee it won't happen again. >> 50 extra fire earning engine wouldn't put those fires out. there was not a chance we could stop that fire from spreading. those conditions would not allow that type of firefight to occur.

>> reporter: and here in the silverado neighborhood, you can see homes behind me for as far as you can see, were destroyed. very few of them are being rebuilt here, even one year later. now here in napa,ky tell you from firsthand experience, the power was out. the cell service was out for several days here. so today, the sheriff is urging people to not try to rely entirely on modern technology. that is the internet based systems. they may not work. they are telling folks to try to have a transistor radio handy, one that works with old fashioned batteries, and also to check on your neighbors. go old school, check on neighbors, make sure everyone is all right, and make sure everyone is communicating. laura anthony, "abc7 news." >> it's a great point, laura. obviously, we rely on technology so much these days. it's a marvelous thing. when it lets us down, we are so

dependant, sometimes as we're discovering the old ways are best. when the tubs fired roared into coffee park, people had little time to get out of harm's way. very little warning. and it disrupted so many lives. to this day, they are still picking up the pieces. wayne freedman spent a lot of time there during the fires and he's live with more on that part of our coverage. >> reporter: thank you, dan. it's a logical place to start. roughly 1600 homes burnt almost simultaneously when that fire burned through. we talked to a lot of people here this year, done countless stories. how do you boil it down? we picked two families. a nice house on a quiet street with one notable difference. the lawn ornaments have seen better days and a much worse one, too. >> these are the only things. we brought everything that survived with us.

>> reporter: it's been one year since he last spoke with john and donna pittman. they had just arrived at the remains of their home. >> my whole life, if something goes wrong, it ain't vietnam. but this is close. >> it's a devastation, but we're not devastated. >> reporter: but the neighborhood, yes. devastation from above that looked almost orderly. at ground level, chaos. accompanied by the strangest of soundtracks. everywhere, sifting. these now prized possessions, all they saved. a box that belonged to her grandmother, and a television remote. >> i have no idea why i packed it. >> you've got to have a theory. >> control. >> you had known. >> reporter: it weighed on them. so after plenty of angst, they took back control of their lives and made a difficult decision. >> i mean, here i am at this age, and you don't want to waste time on this process.

we want it to be over, you want to be free of it and get going. >> after you get through a little bit, you say, i'm not -- we're not rebuilding here, we're moving on. >> reporter: how about moving in? back in coffee park this day, a different kind of relief for tonya williams, the last box. >> everything ask emotional. packing up the other precipehou moving into this one, unpacking. >> reporter: and her husband's punch list. >> this little imperfection right here. >> reporter: we've been following them since last spring when he began rebuilding his own house. being a contractor proved invaluable after a disaster like this. michael promised his bride of 18 years that he would have the place finished by this first anniversary. >> you made it. >> i made it. >> reporter: but what they made it to remains a work in progress. the williams came back to coffee park, because this is home. but the coffee park they have today is not the park they left. it may never be the same.

>> as soon as we open the blinds, it's like oh, yeah, we're constantly reminded we have no neighbors and our neighborhood burnt down a year ago. >> it's like when you walk out to take out your trash and you see the guy next door mowing the lawn or the lady across the street working on our fence, or the other neighbor planting a plant. >> reporter: just one more price of tragedy one expected. one neighborhood, two couples, two paths, freeze frames after a year of hell. which leads to a logical question -- >> is there such a thing as a happy anniversary? >> oh, yeah. >> oh, yeah. >> are the words happy anniversary appropriate? >> yes, it is. we are back home. >> reporter: there are no sweeter words. so happy anniversary to them. worth noting, mike williams wasn't just working on his own house. there are three others. he's a very busy man. live in santa rosa, wayne freedman, "abc7 news."

>> busy indeed. thank you very much. he's done so much reporting from there. good to have him back there tonight. we have a lot more coverage for you on this one-year anniversary of the north bay wildfires as the evening continues here at 4:00, 5:00, and 6:00. coming up, you've heard about what happened in wine country. but there's a major recovery effort for the marijuana industry, the cannabis industry, as well. also, how people are trying to recover, not just their belongings, but a sense of calm, which is easier said than done after a calamity of this magnitude. all of that and a lot more for you coming up on "abc7 news" at 4:00. but kristen, i'll send it back to you in san francisco. >> dan, thanks. we'll move on to some of the other storeys. flames ripped through part of a hillside this afternoon east of half moon bay. fire crews held it to about five acres. this is higgins canyon road between highways 1 and 35. at one point, the fire threatened buildings and some

people had to leave their homes. california's now entering its peak fire season. october is historically a critical fire month. cal fire officials say nearly a dozen of the state's 20 deadliest fires occurred in october. in the first nine months of this year, cal fire reported more than 937 square miles burned in wildfires, more than double the area scorched during the same time last year. the fire danger is still high right now. let's go over to spencer christian for a first check on the weather. >> still very warm and dry and windy here in the bay area. you can see temperatures right now in the upper 80s in many inland locations. so it's been a warm day and continues to be. wind gusts between 15 and 21 miles per hour. so red flag warning for high fire danger remains in effect for elevations above 1500 feet. wind gusts could reach 50 miles per hour. of course, that means fires can start and spread easily. we'll see conditions improving gradually overnight into

tomorrow. so we'll see the red flag warning canceled at 5:00 and the fire danger being reduced a bit. kristen? >> thank you for that, spencer. our coverage of the north bay wildfires one year later continues. coming up next, some of the neighborhoods hardest hit and their recovery. later, the two candidates for governor to head-to-head

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plus, ask how to get free installation. call, go online, or demo in an xfinity store today. drone view 7 giving you a live look at one of the hardest hit areas in santa rosa where we are today. this is the fountain grove

community, more than 1400 neighbors lost their homes when the tubs fire swept through this fire. the first rebuilt home was completed just last month. but as you look behind me as this moonscape, there is a lot more work to be done. when the atlas peak fire broke out in napa, the flames spread so quickly, fueled by fierce and ferocious winds we do get this time of year. it made it impossible to stop for firefighters, and for residents in the silverado neighborhood, that meant there was just minutes to get out. here's what the neighborhood looks like before. and here's what it looked like after the fire. drone view 7 was over what's left of dozens of destroyed homes. this is one of the most ex-chew save enclaves in the napa valley. many residents say they barely escaped the flames, leaving with

just the clothes on their backs, literally. today, many of these multimillion dollar homes sit in ruin. just so much devastation, even a year later. you can tell it's going to be years before the folks can truly recover. on this one-year anniversary, ceremonies take place throughout the evening for north bay fire victims, a chance to remember, reflect, gather with neighbors and to look at what has taken place and what still has to be done in order to get their lives back to normal. one of the ceremonies is planned by the sonoma official counties to get residents together and give them a chance to take a look back at what they've experienced and to look forward. that ceremony will be in santa rosa. people can use chalk to draw on the sidewalks around courthouse square. it's a nice way to express yourself, i suppose. and let out feelings that you

may not realize that you have by using that chalk art. at 6:00 p.m., the memorial begins. our coverage here will continue that memorial will include a bell ringing ceremony, as well. all designed to commemorate what began here one year ago today. and what still has to be done to get this community and so many others back on their feet. more coverage at 7:00 as we continue. kristen, back to you. >> dan, thank you. the north bay wildfires left behind huge financial damage. let's go over to michael finney. michael, you have important information on tax breaks. >> we sure do. one of the last things consumers worry about in the aftermath of a fire form is storm is impact . joining me is attorney steve moscowwicz. there's federal tax programs, we have an entire new tax law, it's

a trifecta, right? >> yes, it is. and the new tax law congress really hurt the people, because for the first time in our history, unless it's a presidentially declared disaster area, no more writeoffs. so that's why it's even more important than ever to make sure you have the appropriate insurance. but something else we have to watch out for. there's a code section hiding in there that really is important. suppose you bought a house for $1,000, today it's worth $1 million and the insurance company gives you a million dollars. you have a $900,000 gain that you have to report on your taxes, unless you replace the property within two years if it's a regular fire, three years if it's condemnation or four years if it's a presidentially declared disaster area. but guess what? you have to make an election on your tax return, put in a piece of paper and say i elect or i'm

going to replace the property within the time period, or you get taxed. it's an election. most people don't know that. >> who knows that? >> you better go to somebody that nose that, otherwise you'll be sitting there with a big tax bill. >> the fire that happened last year, those folks are not getting caught up in this, right? >> they still have a deduction, but they still have the 1033 election. a lot of people are arguing with their insurance company. but it is vital you make that election to avoid the tax. it's something important. if you know how to do it, it's easy. but if you don't, you can say hey, how do i get this tax bill? if you replace the process -- that's the problem with our tax law. there's so many traps. all you have to do is this, but if you don't, there's a horrible consequence. >> i have to talk about fema

money. is that taxable? >> no, it's free, and you don't have to pay it back. there's a cap of $33,000. but you can borrow another $200,000 at 1.8 interest, if you're an individual. another $40,000 for personal property. if if you're a business, $3 million at 2 1/2%. >> okay. thank you very much. i appreciate it. back to you guys. >> great info. stay with "abc7 news" for extended live team coverage today of the north bay wildfires, one year later. we look at how communities in the north bay are still recovering from all that devastation. and lessons they have learned. meantime, one of the key ingredients that led to those fires, the wind, which was a factor today. let's check in with spencer christian. >> the wind is diminishing. still pretty strong in the higher elevations. sunny skies right now. this is the view from mt. tam,

looking down into ocean beach, under sunny skies. 72 in san francisco. 74 in oakland. mid 80s in mountain view. morgan hill at 65. here's a view looking westward. temperature right now, 66. this must be a misprint, but it was in the 80s earlier today at santa rosa. still mid to upper 80s in concord. 81 at livermore. looking at blue skies over the bay. slightly cooler tomorrow. cooling continues middle of the week and warming again at week's end. air quality is good right now across the bay area, i'm happy to report. and some of that smoke from yesterday has departed. overnight, clear skies with low temperatures mainly in the mid 50s and cooler up in the north bay with lows near 50 degrees. the forecast animation showing the return of some low clouds along the coast late tomorrow afternoon, providing little bit of cooling, minimum of cooling.

the day planner for tomorrow, we start the day with clear skies, as the sun rises, sunny throughout the day and low clouds returning to the coast in the late afternoon. despite the return of the cooling clouds, though, a warmer than average day, with highs ranging from low to mid 60s at the coast, mid 70s around the bayshoreline, maybe even a couple of mid 80s inland tomorrow. seven-day forecast. further cooling on wednesday with inland highs reaching only to the upper 70s. low 70s around the bay. a couple of degrees warmer on thursday. but warming returns in full force on friday and saturday, as inland highs move back into the mid 80s again. mid to upper 70s around the bay. feels almost like summer. >> that is full force. thanks so much, spencer. shaking up things on b.a.r.t. and what it means for your commute. plus "the view"

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b.a.r.t. officials tested the alert system today ahead of the 29th anniversary of the 19989 earthquake. the shake alert is an early notification system that provides warning before an earthquake strikes. reporter melanie woodrow explains why it's a big deal. >> reporter: elected officials on this fleet of the future b.a.r.t. train barely noticed when the train slowed down to 27 miles per hour. b.a.r.t. was testing its earthquake early warning system known as shake alert. >> that's the entire point of earthquake early warning is to make future earthquakes as uneventful as possible. >> reporter: b.a.r.t. is an early adapter to shake alert. >> this is not just a game changer. it's a lifesaver. >> reporter: it protects public infrastructure. >> it will allow you to get to a

safe place and trains to be slowed or stopped. it will allow surgeons to withdraw a scalpel from a patient. >> reporter: the federal government to date has provided $43.6 million to implement shake alert. elected officials made the case for continued federal and state funding to expand the system. >> infrastructure is not red or blue. in fact, generally, it is gray. >> reporter: shake alert provides up to tens of seconds of advanced warning that the ground will begin shaking. >> you detect the beginnings of the earthquake at the surface, close to the epicenter. you then characterize the area over which the shaking is going to be felt and push an alert out to people in harm's way. >> reporter: these alerts could go to your cell phone one day. ten seconds is enough time to tell you that and close out this story. melanie woodrow, "abc7 news."

>> you're encouraged to have emergency kits ready in the event of a disaster. nor cal has guidelines for developing an emergency plan. you can find that information by searching for prepare nor cal at abc7news.com. we are just weeks away from election day. and the candidates are now in full swing, vying for your vote. the debate held today and what we learned about the candidates running for governor. and once again, live from santa rosa. you heard about the wineries affected by the wildfires. coming up, the marijuana industry was also affected. as we continue here, live from santa rosa

live, where you live. this is "abc7 news." sky 7 is live over santa rosa right now. perhaps you can see me here in the neighborhood. this is one of the tools that helped residents know whether their homes were safe or destroyed during the fires. technology showed where the flames were and were not and we were able to use that to help people get a food sense whegoode flames were moving.

the fire started early in the evening on october 8th one year ago today. tearing through glenn allen. this is home to a number of growing cannabis farms. a year later, they too are still rebuilding. the firestorm, flames tore through glenn ellen, reducing farms s ts t s ts to wasteland. today, a year later, things look much later. back on track in >> we spent quite a bit of time putting things back together. >> reporter: time and money. this wills many premium weed went up in smoke when the farm burned to the ground, destroying plants and processing facilities. in april, eric showed us around what was left after the fire roared through. >> so this was -- yeah, this warn went all the way down to that hay.

and then another barn over here the same size. >> reporter: eric is the founder of spark, a cannabis company that's provided safely grown cannabis for medical patients since 1998. they operate four dispensaries in the bay area. patients depend on the high quality to relieve their pain. this is the first year the farm is growing under legal recreational cannabis rules. navigating the new regulations was hard enough, but the fire made it even more complicated. >> you know, it's not easy. i don't think anybody who signed up for this thought it was going to be very easy. it was sort of a double whammy. >> reporter: many of the plants he spent decades crossbreeding were destroyed, meaning they had to start from scratch with seeds from other cannabis farms. >> a lot of the seats were donated, which were kind to the organizations that did that for us. >> reporter: today, the foundation is being laid for the new facility. and the first harvest since the

fire is now under way, from drone view 7, you can now see green where the earth was scorched black. this was the farm when we visited six months, and this is what it looks like now. eric says the big, beautiful buds are flourishing, and the harvest is looking good, despite growing in the shadows of last year's place. >> we want to have public access to this farm. we want to have educational tours. we want folks to come here and purchase cannabis one day, very much like a winery. so this is a long-term plan. >> reporter: all taking root among the ashes of a conflegration. eric says that long-term plan will take time and patience, both of which he's determined and willing to put in. he's working with the county to work through the maze of red tape and regulations to get things up and running again. one can hope the bureaucracy

will be as cooperative as possible and make things as easy as possible. our coverage of the wildfires continues here live in santa rosa. here on "abc7 news" at 4:00. little later on, i'll be joined by a psychologist who is talking about recovery one year later, and how so many people, as you can understand, are dealing with post traumatic stress as a result of the terrible calamity that they endured. our coverage continues. stay with us. >> an important conversation coming up. dan, thank you. the search continues right now for a murder suspect in an east bay neighborhood. police say a man was shot dead inside a home early this morning. a witness saw a man leaving the scene on a bicycle. carlos has more from fremont. >> reporter: throughout much of the day, detectives were going door to door in the neighborhood, talking to residents with home surveillance systems. >> owe had them come in and tak

a look at it. >> reporter: the surveillance cameras were not working at the time police say a 56-year-old man was fatally shot. witnesses say multiple gunshots rang out around 12:30 this morning on charleston way. the victim was found dead inside a bedroom he was remitting. another family member was live thing and sleeping at the time. >> they just moved in a few months ago and they have a little baby. and they were pretty quiet. >> reporter: the family was not hurt. investigators say a witness saw a man leave the house on a bicycle moments after the shooting. >> so when we responded, we created a very large perimeter and attempted to find the person on the bicycle within the tracking canine dog, and we used our drones with some technology to detect heat. >> reporter: neighbors describe the area as quiet and safe. >> very concerning, especially

because the school is around the corner. you know now, seeing all the activity. >> reporter: police say they're working to solve the murder mystery. violent crime like this is rare. anyone with any information on this case is asked to call police. in fremont, "abc7 news." we are learning the limousine involved in a deadly crash in new york should never have been on the road. the limousine barreled through an intersection and into a ditch on saturday, killing 18 passengers and two pedestrians. we know the limousine failed a dmv inspection this month. the company that owned it failed four of five inspections over the last two years and the driver did not have the right kind of license. turning to the midterm elections. the two gubernatorial candidates debated today at a local san francisco radio station. leeann melendez was there.

>> reporter: it was a debate not meant for tv news. cameras were not allowed near the candidates. reporters relied on cell phones to poorly record comments made by gavin newsom. john cox, the republican candidate, left without talking to anyone, and exited the station's parking garage. >> so let's get started. >> reporter: on the issue of the state's housing crisis, newsom brought up prop 13, which limits the yearly tax increases. prop 13 has pushed cities to build more big box stores and less housing. >> we're talking about a tax conversation around this housing conversation. everything is on the table as it relates to this. >> reporter: cox says california needs housing reform, saying there's too much red tape, taxes, and lawsuits that stand in the way of more construction. >> there is no good reason why i'm able to build other places for a lot less cost than in california. >> reporter: on the issue of our criminal justice system, cox

believes the state needs tougher laws and sentences that quicks. and newsom said locking people up is not necessarily the answer. with regard to our sanctuary state status, he called a proposal to build a wall between the u.s. and mexico a monument to stupidity. later in the afternoon, cox stopped by "abc7 news" to talk to us about the debate. >> i'm addressing myself to the quality of life, to fixing california, to getting the state to work right. >> reporter: here are newsom's comments take within a cell phone. >> i thought it was an important conversation. i thought the contrast between the two is self-evident on critical issues. >> reporter: both say they're open to more debates before the november election. san francisco's department of elections opens to voting tomorrow. elections officials in every

county in the state will begin mail-in vote ballots this week. justice brett kavanaugh now on the supreme court. >> we were literally under assault. >> the pr

judge brett kavanaugh is now associate justice kavanaugh. his swearing in ceremony just happened at the white house. you will beg-- he will-- he will

supreme court cases tomorrow. here's megan hughes. >> reporter: with his confirmation fight behind him, brett kavanaugh will begin hearing cases on the supreme court tomorrow. and tonight, he'll be celebrated at the white house. senate republican leader mitch mcconnell, who pushed through nomination, will be one of the guests. he thinks the kavanaugh fight will help the gop in the midterms. >> what i think this has done for sus provide the kind of adrenaline shot that we had not been able to figure out how to achieve. >> reporter: kavanaugh was confirmed saturday by a 50-48 vote, the smallest senate margin in 137 years. there were protests before and even after his confirmation. >> we were literally under assault. >> reporter: the nomination was rocked by sexual misconduct allegations against kavanaugh from high school and college. kavanaugh strongly and categorically denied all allegations of sexual misconduct. >> he's going to be on the

supreme court with a huge taint and a big asterisks after his name. >> reporter: and some democrats say the battle isn't over, hinting they could look at impeaching kavanaugh if they take over congress. >> the american public has seen this charade, this dishonesty by the democrats. >> reporter: despite the polarizing confirmation fight, the justices made a show of solidarity, with two liberals, elena kagan and ruth bader ginsburg, and some y'attending y saturday. >> now your accuweather forecast with spencer christian. >> okay. sunny skies right now, and clear skies overnight with just a patch or two of coastal fog. overnight lows, going to be in the mid 50s. tomorrow, another warmer than average day, but a little cooler than today. highs in the low to mid 60s on the coast. mainly mid 70s around the showline. and low 80s tomorrow. here's the accuweather seven-day

forecast. further cooling on wednesday. on thursday, we'll see temperatures bounce back a couple of degrees and another warming trend develops at the end of the week, taking us to the end of the weekend. highs back in the mid 80s inland. 60s on the coast. krissen? >> spencer, thank you. our coverage of the north bay wildfires continues one year later. dan? >> kristen, thank you very much. live from santa rosa once again, the fountain grove community so devastated by the fires. as we continue, a look at post traumatic stress. the road to recovery involves hammers and nails. but it also involves the emotions and the psychological impact. we'll explore that with an expert as we continue. stay with us. i'm 7 on your side's michael finney. a family trying to rebuild their lives, gets some

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i'm marshall tuck. i'm running for state superintendent. drone view 7 is live over fountain grove in santa rosa. rebuilding following the fire has taken longer due to issues with removing hazardous debris. one contractor tells "abc7 news"

that fema didn't clear the lots until march. nonetheless, the contractor plans on having eight homes built by the end of the year. still, a year later, so much work left to be done. and as we look back at what has transpired, we're looking forward at what needs to be done to help people recover. part of that is rebuilding, and a big part of that is dealing with the emotional scars. post traumatic stress is something many are experiencing. joining me is dr. adrian heins, a clinical psychologist, an expert on post traumatic stress. thanks for coming on. great to have you here, adrian. tell us a little bit about the nature of post traumatic stress when you experience something like this. we think of something that happens in wartime. not only, right? >> that's a great question. you know, anniversaries tend to bring up difficult experiences

and memories of, you know, something that you've gone through. and it shows up in ways such as having strained relationships, having fights with partners, feeling irritated with your kids. it can have, you know, show up as difficulty sleeping, having nightmares. >> very good time at work. >> having trouble focusing and getting things done. and you might find yourself drinking or smoking to cope with the stress. >> how do people know when to suspect maybe they have more going on than just the normal grief process? >> in our app sonoma rises, which is a free launch this weekend, and available in english and spanish, it provides assessments to help you understand well-being and where you are with the recovery response. >> so this app, sonoma rises, will literally walk you through some markers that suggest maybe i have post traumatic stress disorder? >> exactly. the app is meant for anyone impacted by the 2017 fires, who

is looking for help to establish a new normal. we decided to use an app because it transcends a lot of the barriers to getting through. there's stigma, geographgeograp there's access. there's scheduling and competing priorities. >> if i go to this app and discover gosh, i think i have signs of post traumatic stress, what does the app do for me? >> right. so the app provides education about what is trauma. it provides tools to help cope with stress, manage anger, heal from loss. there's special resources just for teens, and it connects people directly to evidence based services or free that you can get with a tap of a button. >> english and spanish? >> yes, launched today. >> thank you so much for coming on. i just found out that adrian is a fellow unc graduate. great work, part of this process

to help people rebuild involves not just the brick and the mortar, but helping people recover emotionally and psychological psychologically. take advantage of that app if you need additional help. kristen, back to you. >> look forward to continuing the conversation, dan. you know, a sonoma county man who had lost everything in the fire has been working hard to rebuild their lives. but a utility company is dema demanding money for utilities that no longer exist. >> reporter: this couple was just beginning to heal. their house was gone, so was their antique car collection and everything they accumulated during 50 years of marriage. then they found out that their telecom company was billing them for a service that had burned up in the fire. bringing back some haunting

memories. this is the nyquist family's house as it looked a year ago. this is their house today. >> coming here to see my property is very painful. >> reporter: the 150-year-old house survived earthquakes and floods, but not the north bay wildfires. >> over there were two bedrooms. >> reporter: now just a crumb crumbling foundation. >> everything was on fire. the trees, the grass. and we drove out, so basically a tunnelled fire. >> reporter: now in their 70s, they won't try to rebuild. >> when it's all gone, it's all gone. >> reporter: yet when they returned to their home this year, a stinging rebuke. >> opened my mail and hello, i'm in collection for a bill i don't owe. >> reporter: turns out, at&t had been billing her $421 for phone and tv service since march, long after everything burned up. >> all of this melted stuff,

some of it has to be the phone. >> reporter: at&t said it tried to reach her. >> they began phoning my burnt up phone, my disconnected number. and i wasn't answering. >> reporter: that's when at&t sent her to collections. after all they had been through, a harsh welcome back. >> they said oh, we're so sorry your house burnt. >> reporter: still, she says at&t refused to cancel the charge, only reducing it by half. >> just pay half. i said i don't owe you anything. >> reporter: the couple contacted 7 on your side. we reached out to at&t, and it took care of the couple saying, due to an error, we did not cancel the account. we have corrected the error, and provided a full refund. >> i think 7 on your side is magic! it's great. >> reporter: the couple says the phone bill was the last loose end to a long struggle to rebuild. though it seems like a small

problem, it loomed large when they tried to put the disaster behind them. now they say they're ready and able. >> salt on the wound. thank you so much, michael. >> >> stay with "abc7 news" for extended live team coverage today of the north bay wildfires one year later. we'll have team coverage throughout the evening and online. in other news, megan mccain making an emotional return to "the view" today. >> he would have loved this. loved it. >> her stories about her father, and what he would have loved the tributes to be. coming up at 5:00 -- >> the new times giving the san francisco block a new title, and it's nothing to be proud

it was an emotional return to "the view" for megan mccain. it was her first time back since john mccain, her father, passed away. here's a bit of what it was like. >> we're happy to welcome back our megan mccain. [ applause ] >> i have missed all of you so much. thank you, all of you. i just want to start with you, whoopi. my father loved you. he loved you. he really loved you. [ applause ] and i love you.

i really want to thank all of america for being so kind to my family. [ applause ] from the second that my father passed, and i had to get in a car and motorcade behind his hearse, from the moment i left, there were people in the country, all races, all ages, all creeds, out there with american flags, waves, saluting, praying. he would have had loved it. loved it. i cried the entire way. everyone came out and celebrated him. he believed america is the greatest country in the history of the world. he believed when your candidate, opponent says something racist in a rally, you push back. that is john mccain. and that is what america is. >> she was able to make it through she said because her father raised her to be strong. she thanked joe biden and joe

lieberman for carrying her through this experience. th thank you for joining us at "abc7 news" at 4:00. "abc7 news" at 5:00 starts now. >> places were burning everywhere. we didn't know when it was going to end. >> the north bay wildfires a year later. we interviewed this man the day his home was destroyed. his new perspective. >> we didn't want to just close up and walk away. we were definitely a part of the community. the new clientele that's offered a new lifeline. and a family running into trouble as they try to adjust to a new normal. the tiny home bringing them hope. live where you live, this is "abc7 news." a devastating firestorm hit the north bay one year ago. the somber anniversary as communities continue to heal. good evening. i'm kristen sze.

>> and i'm dan ashley, live in santa rosa tonight. six massive fires burned more than 200,000 acres. that's about 300 square miles. three of the biggest fires broke out within minutes. the flames moving so fast that some people could not make it out of their homes. 44 people perished. 8900 buildings were destroyed. and it took more than three weeks before crews could contain the flames. but so much damage had been done. "abc7 news" has live team coverage for you tonight. incredibly, comprehensive coverage to bring you every aspect of this story on the north bay wildfires one year later. our team of reporters have put together stories on the fires and how they have changed so many lives. we'll begin our coverage with news reporter cornell bernard. he reconnected with a man we talked with a year ago as he watched his home of 25 years burn tohe